When Mark got back to camp, Ava was off to the side playing with Bramble. Mark started toward her, planning to tell her about his new skills.
Cora walked in while Mark was explaining his new skill. “There are tracks west of the stream. Not an animal, not a monster. They’re like ours.”
Ava said, “Cool, there’s another person out there!”
Mark looked at the other two, thinking about the risk. Should he help? Would this put them at risk? If the person was human, they were most likely as lost as he had been. “How fresh were the tracks?”
Bramble walked over while they were talking, his ears perking up.
Cora said, “They were pretty fresh. They looked to be dragging their feet; they might be in trouble.”
Mark looked in the general direction that Cora had indicated. He could feel something different. But he couldn’t quite describe it. “Okay, if someone is in trouble, we should go help if needed. Does anyone have concerns about going?”
Ava said, “You guys helped me; we should help them too. If they are hurt, they will need our help.”
Mark said, “Alright, that is good enough for me. Cora, can you lead the way?”
“I am coming too,” Ava said. “Bramble can help track too.”
They all followed Cora through the forest to the stream and then crossed it. The area they were in was way south of the cave. Mark could tell as he neared the stream that it was the border of his controlled area. He lost a lot of the extra sense as they crossed the river; he could still sense the general direction, enough to tell that whatever it was didn’t belong there.
Not long after they crossed the river, they were able to find tracks pretty quickly. Surprisingly, it was Bramble who found them first. They could tell from the tracks that the person was dragging their leg and, from time to time, they saw blood. The tracks headed southwest through the trees.
Mark found the different feeling outside his area interesting. The feeling of control was not there. The area did not resist his presence, but he could tell that it was not his to control.
They finally found the person; it was a man. He was limping along, looking frantically in all directions. Bramble made a growling noise, and the man stumbled and fell. He looked worse up close than the tracks suggested.
“Not again. It’s caught up to me,” he said as he tried to get back up.
Ava said softly, “Sorry, sir, that is just Bramble; he is with me; he won’t hurt you.”
The fear in his voice wasn’t sharp; it was worn down. Just someone at the end of whatever rope they had been clinging to. The man turned towards them. “Oh, you’re not the animals that have been attacking me.”
Mark looked at the man’s fear and the wounds. He was someone who needed help. He did not look to be a threat. Only time would tell. But for now, he was going to help. “Hello, my name is Mark. This is Cora and Ava and her pet Bramble.”
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The man said, “Thank you. Thank you. I have been wandering lost for a few days; I don’t know where I am or how to get home. Each time I lose the animals, they find me again.”
Mark said, “Did you get the system message when you were dropped here?”
The man said, “Message?”
Mark said, “The survival message when you first got here?”
The man said, “Yes, it was not a lot of help. I don’t know where I am.”
Mark said, “You’re hurt. I can clean that up and get you somewhere safer if you want. We can make sure nothing can hurt you until you get your bearings.”
The man said, “Thanks so much. I have killed a few things, but they keep chasing me, and I am hungry and thirsty. Do you have anything to eat?”
Mark pulled out a water skin and a piece of cooked meat and handed it to the man. Cora also gave him some berries. Mark sat down next to the man and, using some water, cleaned the wound on his leg and bandaged it up.
When he was done, Mark asked, “If you’re up to it, we can show you the way back to our camp.”
The man said, “Anything as long as I don’t get attacked again.”
With Mark’s help, the man stood up. He was able to walk on his own, though he went slowly. Mark made him a walking stick to make walking easier for him. They walked in silence on the way back to camp. Knowing the way and able to sense danger, Mark guided them around anything that might stress the man out. When they arrived, the man watched Mark as he opened the entrance to camp and then, after they were in, closed it and re-armed the traps. Mark grabbed him a chair and helped him sit down near the fire pit in the center of camp. Grabbing a chair of his own, he sat down to talk.
Mark said, “You are safe here. Again, I’m Mark. I have built this camp that we are living in. When I showed up in this system, I did not feel safe. I am not a fighter. I have learned to survive by making traps and using the traps to catch the animals. I have managed to gain a few levels.”
The man said, “Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot to say my name; it’s Dale. I am still completely lost. I was at work when the lights flashed. Then I was being attacked. I ran, and well, for three days I have been wandering lost, not knowing where I was or how to get home.”
Mark showed Dale how to open his character sheet, assign his waiting stats, and use inventory. Dale experimented with storing a knife, amazed that he could make it vanish and return. Dale went to hand the knife back to Mark.
Mark said, “No, you keep it. I have more. I learned how to make crude knives at first and then better ones later as I practiced and used better materials. I have plenty of them.”
Dale said, “Thanks, I don’t know how to fight, but I do know a little about knives.”
Dale watched Mark begin dinner. “Looks more like burning meat with style. You’ve been wasting a lot of this, haven’t you?”
Mark laughed. “You think you can do better?”
Cora set a pile of vegetables and herbs on the workbench. Dale looked them over like she had provided a rough spice rack, then began selecting what he wanted to use. Dale took over dinner, moving the meat away from the strongest heat and experimenting with the herbs and vegetables Cora had gathered. Mark, Cora, and Ava just watched Dale in awe as he cooked the food. When he was done, they all lined up with plates in hand, and he dished them up.
Cora said, “Better.”
Ava said, “That’s fantastic. It’s much better than what Mark fed me.”
Mark said, “Okay, you’re hired.”
Mark could not believe the difference in taste from how he cooked the meat. It was not just the spices he had added, either. It made him feel refreshed. The better food made a difference. He had a skill that they could use to improve their lives.
Dale just sat and smiled. “I guess those years in culinary training paid off then, huh? I also received a system message and gained the Cooking skill.”
[Skill Acquired]
Cooking Level 1
Allows:
Prepare simple meals using basic ingredientsJudge food doneness more reliablyReduce common cooking mistakes that waste food
◈ ◈ ◈
They spent the rest of the night chatting about the crazy few days and telling each other what they had figured out or found over the short time they had been here. After dinner and talking, Mark showed Dale to the shelter he made for Cora. Cora had vanished into the forest earlier after she ate, so she did not look like she would be using it tonight.
“You can sleep here tonight, and I will make you your own A-frame tomorrow. I made this for Cora, but she has never used it. I will make another in the morning.”
As Mark fell asleep, his last thought was one more thing he didn’t have to handle alone anymore.